"Guaranteeing the Right to Refuse Unfair Training"... Trainee Death Leads to National Petition

As of the 10th, 28,000 people agreed
If 50,000 agree by the 7th of next month, it will be sent to the relevant committee

A trainee's death occurred at the Army's 12th Division, and while the police are conducting an investigation, a National Assembly petition has been posted requesting the guarantee of soldiers' rights to refuse and disobey unfair military discipline training orders in light of this incident.

On the 7th, a post titled "Petition on Regulations and Legislation to Prevent Recurrence of the Trainee Death Incident at the 12th Infantry Division" was uploaded on the National Assembly's petition website. As of the afternoon of the 10th, the post had received about 28,000 endorsements. A National Assembly petition becomes subject to committee review if it receives more than 50,000 endorsements within 30 days. The endorsement period for this post runs until the 7th of next month.

On the 4th, in front of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, parents of current and former soldiers of the Army's 12th Division trainees and representatives from the Military Human Rights Center held placards during a press conference condemning the harsh treatment death incident and urging a thorough investigation.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The author, Mr. A, explained the purpose of the petition, stating, "Recently, at the 12th Infantry Division, a company commander forced trainees to perform push-ups, running, and sprinting in full combat gear weighing up to 40 kg under the pretext of military discipline training because they were noisy during personal maintenance time the day before. This was a harsh act disguised as military discipline training." He added, "The trainee who died from enduring this harsh treatment was already in poor health, but the company commander insisted on continuing the harsh training despite this."

He continued, "This was clearly a harsh act violating the Army's military discipline training regulations, but because the person who ordered it was a high-ranking company commander, other military personnel either ignored or condoned it. The deceased trainee was powerless in the face of the company commander's unreasonable orders."

[Image source=Captured from the National Assembly Public Consent Petition website]

Mr. A argued that, prompted by this incident, military officers and personnel should actively prevent illegal military discipline training that violates regulations and laws, and that soldiers' rights to refuse and disobey unfair military discipline orders should be legally guaranteed.

Earlier, on the 23rd of last month at around 5:20 p.m., one of six trainees undergoing military discipline training at the 12th Division's Recruit Training Center in Inje-gun, Gangwon Province, collapsed. The collapsed trainee was transported to a civilian hospital for treatment but his condition worsened, and he died on the afternoon of the 25th, two days later.

Meanwhile, on the 10th, the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency reported that they had booked and summoned two individuals, including the company commander, in connection with the death incident caused by military discipline training at the Army's 12th Division. The police booked the company commander (captain) and the deputy company commander (first lieutenant) on charges of professional negligence causing death and abuse of authority through harsh acts, and requested their appearance. This came 18 days after the incident occurred and 12 days after the Army handed over the case. The specific date for their appearance has not been disclosed.